Stadium gets Hank's house

Baseball great Hank Aaron's childhood home will be moved to BayBears' ballpark and opened as a museum

Mary Hattler / Press-RegisterWorkers spruce up the yard around Hank Aaron's childhood home in Toulminville.

Hank Aaron Stadium has often been referred to as Aaron's house. Soon, the baseball Hall of Famer's childhood home will actually be found there.

An afternoon news conference is scheduled Monday in the Toulminville neighborhood to announce that Aaron and his family have agreed to donate to the city of Mobile the house where Aaron, his late brother Tommie and their siblings grew up. The city, along with the Mobile BayBears, will move the house to Hank Aaron Stadium, where it will become an Aaron family museum.

The house/museum will be situated in the stadium's Gas Light Park, which features picnic areas. Once it has been moved and made ready for visitors, it will be open year-round.

BayBears President Bill Shanahan came up with the idea about 18 months ago and pitched it to Aaron, who presented the plan to family members.

"He was touched by the thought," Shanahan said. "He talked to family members and we stayed in touch. In November, Hank called back and said he had talked with his mother (Estella, who died in April) and his siblings and they made a commitment to the project."

The plan calls for the house-moving to take place in October. The BayBears will handle the costs associated with the relocation and house renovations.

The city will own the house, while the BayBears will be responsible for maintaining and operating the museum.

Aaron is expected to travel to Mobile in the coming days in support of the project.

Representatives of the National Baseball Hall of Fame are expected to arrive in Mobile today and it is believed that the Hall of Fame will, on a rotating basis, loan Aaron-related memorabilia for the museum to display.

Plans are to open the museum in March, Shanahan said, prior to the start of the BayBears' 2009 season. The grand opening will be the highlight of a season-long celebration of Aaron's 75th birthday, Shanahan said.

"I thought it was a great idea from the outset," said Mobile Mayor Sam Jones. "To have one of the greatest players in the nation be from Mobile and to have a museum to honor him and his accomplishments, I think is a great opportunity."

Jones was a high school classmate of another Aaron brother, James.

"It could be an opportunity to showcase the careers of so many other people from Mobile," the mayor said. "It's clear that at one time, baseball was the sport of choice in Mobile. That's obvious with all the Hall of Famers and even others playing today like (NL Cy Young Award winner) Jake Peavy.

"And I believe the perfect person to lead that is Hank Aaron. There's not a doubt in my mind he's the right choice."

Larry Hinkle of Hinkle's House Movers has agreed to move the house for free because of his admiration for Aaron, Shanahan said.

"Baseball is, in my opinion, a bridge for life in general," Shanahan said. "And what better vehicle can we in Mobile have than a man who has stood out and represented Mobile for almost three-quarters of a century?"

The museum, according to Shanahan, will serve not only as a tribute to the Aaron family and its place in baseball and in Mobile, but for the history of the Mobile area and those who have taken part in fashioning that history.

Shanahan added he believes it is also important that the museum reflect other aspects of the life of the Aaron family and of Mobile in general.

"This stadium isn't just named for a great baseball player, it's named for a great man," Shanahan said.